Roddick tied his personal best by firing 42 aces today.

Actually, make that 43. He literally one-upped his record.

What a tough day. All of the gentlemen I was rooting for today lost. =(

Congrats to Roddick!

Hewitt is a great fighter..

Now RAndy...do a good job of taking the Muzz to five sets. Alas, I don't see it happening.

And...and...top it all...Roddick doesn't have to FACE Federer again. Think about it Roddick. Just take a break from Brooklyn and think about it. Think what happened to all those semis against Fed in the past. Think about it. Channelize it. Focus on it. And do what you have to do.

2nd time in Roddicks career that he beat a player that was in the top 10, in a five setter

"Now RAndy...do a good job of taking the Muzz to five sets. Alas, I don't see it happening"

me too, it will be straight sets, I think

""Now RAndy...do a good job of taking the Muzz to five sets. Alas, I don't see it happening. ""

Spoken like a true FedKAD :)

I just have to pay tribute to Lleyton for his wonderful comeback from surgery and his tremendous fighting spirit.

imjimmy...I am a Roddick fan too :-)

Unfortunately, I don't see him winning against the Muzz.

I think the other SF is more dangerous...pure 5 setter written all over it, and the Fed can lose you know.

I'm not expecting big things from Roddick in the semifinal (Murray matches up well against him), but I will say that if he gets off to a fast start like Wawrinka, anything's possible.

yay, I picked all the correct SFists in my draw (though to be fair, the only difficult pick was Haas.

Thereafter I have Federer d. Haas and Murray d. Roddick, and Federer d. Murray (a KAD pick)

it was a nice gesture by hewitt to wait and point to roddick as the crowd applauds, i like this guy.

Andrew:

CLASSIC POST! C-plus tennis, indeed!

Triple F:

I know what you mean, but technically, Roddick could face Fed. (Just not on Friday--again, I know what you meant by that.)

Actually, Andrew, I've no problem with an A- for today's tennis, though I think the noncompetitive factor brings it down to B+. I would've picked an A- myself had Nole returned better and presented more of a battle.

Yeah, I don't see Roddick threatening Muzz much, either. But all credit to the guy's hard work and perseverance. Those demoralizing losses to Fed would have crushed a lesser man's spirit. And it was nice such a win came against Hewitt, another never-say-die old battler. A big cheer for both.

rollin, rollin, rollin
keep them doggies rollin
rollin, rollin, rollin, rawhide...head 'em up!

Vamos RAndy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and Rusty, well done mate. Darren Cahill said that was going to be a popcorn match, and it did not disappoint.

The Andys do battle on Friday.

Last years Wimby marked the coronation of the New Generation, the young guys took the place by a storm, ending it all with the best of them (Rafa) winning the championship. This year the Old Guard has reemerged as a group, 3 of 4 semifinalists are over 27, the best match of the tournament(sofar) was just played by as Roddick put it "a couple of old married dudes". Fernando Verdasco has gone through a late career turn around, Andy R. has once again become a force to be reckoned with (UNLESS your name is Roger Federer, Hewitt has made a comback from injuries, the list goes on. The Old Guard is back!

Roddibago gets to make another run. Time to restock the tequilla, margaritas and chips 'n salsa/guacamole.

*NBC* PLEASE DON'T SCREW UP THE REST OF THE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete, can anything be done about NBC????? This is horrible.

Federer's take on the Resurgence of the Elderly :

"It's fun that it's not always just the young guys and me," Federer told reporters after dispatching another senior member of the last-eight brigade, 30-year-old Ivo Karlovic, 6-3 7-5 7-6.
"I mean, sure it's cool once in a while, but I still like to play the guys who I used to play when I came up and who were my main rivals for many years.
"I'm very happy that so many guys have made it through to the second week, to the quarter-final stages and obviously we'll have Andy (Roddick) or Lleyton going through."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/8587140

No surprises there. ;-)

""I think the other SF is more dangerous...pure 5 setter written all over it ""

Actually I think Federer should win that one in straights. Djokovic's returns were amazingly crappy today. Haas will get passed easily against Fed.

So you're hoping for Roddick to tire out Muzz before the final? I just wish it doesn't rain on Sunday. If they close the roof, Murray will again start serving like a baby. In the warm-up (before the match) againt Stan, Muzz was still serving when the umpire called time. He served twice after that call and both serves caught the middle of the net. He was grumpy, and continued in the same vein(serving awfully) for most of the match.

Half way through I started cheating and support Rusty big way. But then I realized what's ahead when Roddick won. Good stuff. Good stuff.

Not as a Fed-KAD (honestly. really!): I think Roddick will get through Murray.

1. A once in a life time opportunity for him given the chase he's been giving GS and coming up short against Fed mostly.

2. After a couple of years of so-so Wimby, getting married and losing 15 pounds (the human to do that I guess) and slugging it out to make it to Semis? He is going right now...in his head and in his heart.

3. Murray will have tremendous pressure. The entire country will go crazy and that will somewhat choke him in the first set (as he had false starts 3 out of 5 matches including today where he won by a DF to avoid a TB) and that'd do good for Roddick.

Roddick in 4.

That's all your honor.

WTA Semifinal preview:

(A-5)Dinara Safina vs (A-1)Venus Williams
Dinara has made 4 consecutive Slam semifinals after defeating Sabine Lisicki in 3 sets despite 15 DFs on her serve. On her previous 3 trips to the semifinals, her road to the title has been derailed by Serena Williams,who went on to win the title. Dinara draw has been very kind as the highest player she played,other than Amelie Mauresmo, was ranked 41. Venus has won the last 52 sets(32 singles and 20 doubles) that she has played at Wimbledon. Saw the replay of her match against Agnieszka Radwanska on Wimbledon Primetime and some of the shots Agnieszka hit would have been winners on another day but not against Venus. That match was the best one,IMO, that Venus has played.

Prediction : Venus Williams advances to her 8th Wimbledon final in straight sets(one may be a 7-5 or 7-6)

(A-8)Elena Dementieva vs (A-2)Serena Williams
Elena has cruised through the draw without media attention winning all of her matches in straight sets with the highest rank opponent she played was 37. After not making the Wimbledon SF during most of her career, she has now made consecutive SF. Serena has played very well in her last 2 matches and is determined to take the Venus Rosewater Dish from her sister,who is trying to 3-peat since Steffi Graf in 1993. Also, Serena will remember that she led Elena by a set and a break at the Beijing Olympics but lost and also led Svetlana Kuznetsova by a break at the French Open but her normal reliable serve let her down.

Prediction : Serena Williams quest for her 11th Slam(and 3rd Wimbledon) title will continue in straight sets(one may be 7-5 or 7-6)

c1, unfreakingbelievable. I thot I'd be in the minority to call Haas, and that would win me the draw. Now the only thing that can tip it in my favor (over you) is Muzz winning it ;-).

imjimmy,

Haas used to take the 2006 version of Fed to five sets in GS, and their FO match hinged on one forehand. Also, in all the matches that I saw at Wimby, Fed has been pretty crappy at the net and I didn't watch too much today, but the general opinion was that the passers were crappy too.

Also, even if the Andys SF goes to five sets, Muzz has a day off to recover. I don't see it going five sets though. I just don't want Roddick to go out tamely...after all Fed is in the other half. OTOH I would love a Muzz-Fed final though ...but Haas has other ideas i think.

Come on... Muzz winning Wimby has a fairy tale feel to it, as a Fed KAD, even I won't be too dissapointed if the Muzz wins against the Fed to win Wimby.

But first thing, Fed has to reach the final. I think the Muzz has had his scare and has learnt his lesson, will be focused for the SF. He should win it without any problems.

imjimmy, I'd give Haas one set. He's given Fed many a headache before, even in TMF years.

Anyway I'm outtie. Later, folks.

MA: Agree with your picks. I saw highlights from that Venus match as well. Some unbelievable shot making. I may have picked ReRe but if Venus continues that level...

I agree with C1 that the final will be Muzz v. Fed. At the beginning of the tourney, that was mine (and a lot of folk's) pick for the final and I thought Muzz would win but I wonder how much he will have left in the tank. If he can beat RAndy in straights, game on, otherwise...not so sure.

nah, Pspace. You weren't the only one. I think jb and sokol also picked Haas, and someone else (Jenni?)...I don't really trust Djokovic to play well on grass and I always tend to pick the first person who plays well to defeat him...and that turned out to be Haas.

Looks like I missed the match of the tourney so far. had to leave in the 2nd set and thought it was going to be roddick in straights. wow. good for lleyton!

love the fact that 3 out of 4 of the semifinalists are what? 26+?

"Muzz winning Wimby has a fairy tale feel to it"

"I'm in love with a fairy tale,
Even though it hurts,
And I don't care if I lose my mind,
I'm already cursed" :-)))))

Hard to criticize ESPN for anything given the sack of crap NBC tossed at televised tennis this week. But a replay of Muzz's match? This day, to me, should be all about Haas and Roddick. At least give us a replay of the former's match to fill the remaining time.

Interesting quotes from Federer about the evolution of his game :

"Q. When you're playing a guy like Haas or Juan Carlos or Hewitt or any of the guys who you've been playing for a long time, do you find that the strategies they use against you or you against them have changed over the years?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, we all evolve as players, so obviously there's always a little bit of a change from both sides, you know. I mean, if you look at how I played Lleyton when I was younger, I used to come into the net, you know, a lot, chip and charge him, try to serve and volley him, you know, not make the rallies last.

But once I got better I wasn't scared to enter into the rallies. And then all of a sudden you have many and different opportunities, you know, in your own game, playing offense, playing defense, which before you only played offense and no defense really.

It was exciting to play like that. I think it's helped me a lot over the years, if I look back, that I played serve and volley here, almost first and second serve against Pete in 2001, and today I hardly ever play it anymore.

But it's definitely helped me to learn an offensive game. Then, I mean, but I think after a certain amount of years you have a very solid base, and then you start working on the little details, and the details come out in key moments of the match. I think this is where every player tries to make, you know, a big push in their own game."

the SFist skew younger this year than they did the last, I think.

2008:

Federer: 26, Nadal: 22, Safin: 28, Schuettler: 32

average age: 27

2009:

Federer: 27, Murray: 22, Roddick: 26, Haas: 31

average age: 26.5

:P

wait, my bad. espn2 is showing more tennis. maybe they'll show roddick/hewitt.

Who is the oldest person to have won Wimbledon?

Fed - Haas H2H. 9-2 Fed.
The only two times Haas won, a) Sydney Olympics when Roger was 11 years old and b) '02 AO when Fed was "ordinary" (read pre TMF).

The way Fed is been playing and the way he is motivated to get his 15th, especially Wimby...I don't see a frikkin' chance for Haas.

Straight sets Fed. With a potential Bagel in it.
Mark my words.

"Who is the oldest person to have won Wimbledon?"

Charlotte Sterry of Great Britain won Wimbledon Ladies Singles champion in 1908 at the age of 37 years and 282 days. Arthur Gore, another British citizen, became the oldest Wimbledon Men's Singles champion at the age of 41 years and 182 days. The records are not yet broken.

Ashe? Connors? Sampras? Hmmmm ... good question.

espn2 has been showing tennis since 1twtime so they probably showed roddick already and i missed it.

how far did arod get at the FO?

Wait, it was Arthur Gore. ;-)

4th rd, I believe. lost to Monfils.

this is shaping up to be ARod's best year at the slams since 2005.

Triple F,

Bagel???

All their matches on grass at Halle have featured at least one tiebreaker

how about oldest in the modern era?

agassi and sampras each won majors at 31 i think.

Oh...thanks ... for the answer...I wonder in the open era, who is the oldest..can't figure out that answer frmo the ATP site..

Annie..I meant Wimbledon...I know Becker was the youngest, but what was Pete's age when he won his last Wimby?

I thought I heard today (in context of Ivo who's 31) that Ashe was the last 30+ guy to win Wimby. But I may have heard wrong, too.

Triple F: Agree with straight sets for Roger. I don't know about a bagel though...

Whose GS record is this? Unfreakingbelievable.

"""
1999 - 1ST 1ST -
2000 3RD 4TH 1ST 3RD
2001 3RD QF QF 4TH
2002 4TH 1ST 1ST 4TH
2003 4TH 1ST WON 4TH
2004 WON 3RD WON WON
2005 SF SF WON WON
2006 WON RUP WON WON
2007 WON RUP WON WON
2008 SF RUP RUP WON
2009 RUP WON -
"""

I haven't been able to post. I keep getting redirected to the typebad sign on...

Congrats to AndyR! I am expecting the much anticipated Murray/Fed final but will be rooting for the underdogs just the same ;)

Pspace..:-)

Yay! My post finally went through after switching from Firefox to IE.
C'mon Pspace that's just too obvious ;)

"Whose GS record is this? Unfreakingbelievable."

Hmm... that's a tricky one. ;-)

Hewitt`s presser is up
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/interviews/2009-07-01/200907011246450789968.html

Isn't it ironical that the very first QF of a slam that Fed reached was at the FO?

I also read somewhere that he grew up on clay courts...

Hi Tfactor! Sorry to hear you were having trouble getting onto TW. *knocks on wood*-I haven't had a problem with that myself but I understand there are many who have had probs. :( I am not jumping on any train, wagon, or bus at this point. :)

Pspace: that's fed, no?

Pspace at 3.49....I became dizzy after reading your post....who might this be...LOL

there's a lot of rup's and wons on there. incredible.

I rather like that 2008 line Pspace. :)

I must confess that I slept off during the Roddick-Hewitt match ;-)

Congratulations to Roddick for a great win and commiserations to Lleyton for a tough loss so Roddick wins their four moset recent matches all tight affairs except the USO 2006 and levels the H2H at 6-all.

The SF matches should be interesting especially AndyM vs AndyR. That would probably be the second match on CC on Friday.

Unfortunately, I am back to normal schedule tomorrow so I shall once again miss both the ladies SF and the men's SF on Friday. I hope both Vee and ReRe win thier singles SF matches.

Happy Canada Day to all Canadian posters :)

Hewitt's not mincing his words :

"Q. What are your thoughts on the matchup, Andy versus Andy?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think it's gonna be a tough one for Roddick to win. I think, you know, when I've seen Andy Murray at his best, I think he matches up extremely well against Roddick.

Yeah, it's going to be an interesting match. A couple years ago I saw them play here because they were in my section, and Murray took care of him convincingly. And Murray's a lot better player now than he was then.

Roddick's gonna have to play a helluva match to beat him."

Told ya all about the Ashes prelude angle. ;-) Funny thing is they asked him anyway. :-)

"Q. If you'd played Murray, it would have been a nice Ashes appetizer. Who is going to win the Ashes?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. Feeling pretty confident at the moment. You guys don't talk about the last one. You just keep going back to '05. Everything on the TV is '05. There was one in between that. Everyone's forgotten."

I think this Roddick has the capability to push Murray beyond straight sets. His serve and forehand both seem to be in working order - enough to get a set at least.

I'd expect Federer to start strong on Friday. He probably has no desire to concede the early momentum to Haas like at RG.

Yeah guys, it was a joke...Of course, it should be obvious ;-). Anyways, congrats to Fed on his 21st consecutive slam SF. That's his best record, imo. Of course, it wouldn't mean much if he'd won 0...but 14/15 out of 21 is like a 66%/70% conversion rate...not bad.

""I rather like that 2008 line Pspace. :) ""

rudy3, jajaja. There's something in there for every1, no? ;-)

Hi Rafadoc,
Glad to hear you've been immune to the various issues.
It seems to be better now on IE for me (knocking wood too)

I'm basically Ok with any of semifinalist winning but Roddick is the next in my list of initial preferences (which was basically in reverse order of who I thought was most likely to win)

Meanwhile as it is in the Ladies singles, all four top seeds are also in the SF in the ladies doubles nice! In fact each SF matchup is really good and you can't easily pick winners. As much as I like Bluber, in this case I would prefer the Williams Alliance to win so they can have the chance to defend their title. And Renae and Sam would also like another chance at the title since they lost last year in the finals to the Williams Alliance although they beat Bluber in the SFs (I think). Meanwhile AMG and VRP would love the chace to have on half of their duo complete a career slam. These matches should all be interesting.

As for the men, I just want my Canadian-Serbian duo of Daniel and Nenad to defend their title sorry James and Mardy;-)

So, according to posters at MTF, Feddy will get back the no. 1 ranking latest by Aug 3rd, even if he loses to Haas in the semis here. And Muzz could get to no. 1 if he wins the tournie, or soon to no. 2 should he get to the final.

Alright, bring on the Fedal semifinal !!!

Pspace,
You can't help it, you may be rooting for Murray but you can't wait for Fed to win his #15 ;)

"As for the men, I just want my Canadian-Serbian duo of Daniel and Nenad to defend their title sorry James and Mardy;-)"

I have a baaaaaaaad feeling about this.

*Q. If you'd played Murray, it would have been a nice Ashes appetizer. Who is going to win the Ashes?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. Feeling pretty confident at the moment. You guys don't talk about the last one. You just keep going back to '05. Everything on the TV is '05. There was one in between that. Everyone's forgotten. *

who was it that mentioned that here?

Tfactor: I am glad too! I would get on the RAndy train but it would break my heart to see him lose to Fed...again. And, I just don't see him getting past Muzz.

Lleyton beat Nalby in 2002. Sorry Rusty-I missed that since I had checked out of tennis with the Sampras domination. Would have loved to have seen that final-against Nalby!

Avid Sports Fan and Greenhopper,
May have to do a little WTA doubles preview since you pointed out that the top 4 seeds are playing also. Just waiting on the official OOP before I do it.

crazyone : Me! Me! :-) They asked him anyway. Good on Lleyton for answering it like a true Aussie. ;-)

Tfactor, hehe, I'm not capable of that kind of introspection. *ignores conflicting feelings* Muzzah FTW!

greenhopper - yupp those scenarios are possible because the Rogers points come off July 27 while the Cinci points come off the week after which is when Rogers will just be starting so it's idle time and Rafa and AndyM will lose the most points W and SF (1450) without the chance to replace them.

Crazyone: They are talking about cricket. The Australian cricket team beat the England team in 2007. Since the England team won in 2005, they keep repeating about their win but never mention their loss in 2007. This is what Hewitt is talking about

So is Fed going to get back his number 1 ranking anyways..????

Taco Bell: Yes- I think Roger just had to make the semifinal, which he has. It will be an interesting late summer as the top three will be very close in points.

Neither do I Rafadoc :(
Rafa needs to come back strong so we don't have to go through all this rooting conflicts ;-)

greenhopper - I do too *sigh* but I will only blame Mardy and not James ;-)

Master Ace - oh nice! Looking forward to your WTA doubles preview.

BTW-Who has qualified for London so far? Rafa and Roger have for sure...*off to look*

Yeah, def. blame Fish and his stupid serve, 'cos we all know Blake can't hit a volley to save his life. -_-

Psapce,
LOL
I think it's goind to be a Murray/Fed final and I am 50/50 on rooting preferences there so maybe for once I can just remain completely impartial (yea right...) ;)

Color me confused...ATP site says Roger has to win Wimbly to take back number one...

Here is ATP's "Shark's" breakdown of the points battle: http://tinyurl.com/nxeuad

[repost]
Is there a way to see the ATP race standings? The old link that someone gave (way back in Feb, I guess) doesn't work anymore. Thanks.

rafadoc, If Rog wins Wimby, he'll be No. 1 next week. If Muzz wins and Roger doesn't (SF or F), Rafa will remain No. 1, Muzz No. 2 and Roger drops to No. 3....Muzz just has to do one better than Roger for this to happen, i.e., if Muzz makes F and Rog loses to Haas...he drops to No. 3.

Rafa will lose No. 1 after the Olympics points come off...most likely. Roger has nothing to defend in Toronto and Cincy. Rafa and Muzz are defending a lot. OTOH, Muzz has nothing to defend for Olympics. So, it will all be in flux at that point.

Arun
Since you asked yesterday I have been searching for it high and low.
The only thing I came up with was an unofficial chart dated 14 June 09 posted on Murray's forum
http://www.andymurray.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1998

Okay-and I was wrong-evidently Rafa is the only one who has secured a spot in London. Of course, that is if I am reading the ATP site correctly. Not an easy site to navigate, IMO.

Tfactor! Thanks. I will take a peek at it. I've been searching for the official race standings too - no luck so far.

Since the site has been restructured, some of the old features have been taken out (race, racquet, cloth sponsors info, etc). I emailed them and got a general reply saying they're working on them and most of the features will return shortly.

Also, anyone who wins a slam this year automatically qualifies for the WTF. So, Fed and Rafa are in.

Pspace-thanks for the info. :) Yes, Rafa has the W at Toronto and I think a semi loss at Cincy...and then the Olympic points...it is just a matter of time until he loses the numero uno spot. Fall will be interesting since Rafa doesn't have a lot to defend there. Muzz does and he will also have to take a hit for Madrid points in the fall too. Could be some changing of number ones...veddy interesting!

GH: Thanks for the info...I agree about the site-not user friendly at all. It seems like the basic stuff-like the ATP race-should be easily accessed. Not so...

Though Rafa didn't win any title other than the Toronto and the Olympics last fall, he's at least gone to the SFs in all of them except Bercy and WTF. So, LOTS of points at stake. He could gain a little more if he decides to play Davis cup.

But if I were him, I'd park a tent right next to Nole at no. 3 and let the other two fellas fight it out till my knees are completely okay.

greenhopper,

So what if somebody outside of the top 8 wins a Slam. Will the eight ranked player not get to go?

just horsen, yes, I think Safin got into the YEC one year by that rule and the doubles team of Cuevas/Horna got in last year for winning the FO title.

GH: Couldn't agree more. I was thinking Rafa missed more last fall-guess not- must have just felt that way! My goal for Rafa is USO (big ask, I know).

I DO hope Rafa is fit for London though. Really missed him there last year.

gh @ 4:27 -- Thanks.